Vulpine Summer Fete heats up Teddington

Cycling took over the Lion gastropub in Teddington yesterday as the Vulpine Summer Fete marked the hottest day of the year so far.

As the roar from around the screens deafened the room, indicating Chris Froome’s victory on Mont Ventoux, it was clear that the Vulpine Summer Fete was going to be blessed with good luck as well as good weather.

At a French-themed fete, a French bulldog called Ivor.

With a French theme suited to both the Bastille Day date and the ongoing Tour, Vulpine, a small (but growing) London-based manufacturer of stylish technical cycle clothing, gathered their friends and customers in The Lion pub in Teddington on one of the hottest days of the year to celebrate cycling, cycles and creativity.

The party spilled out into the street

Despite the heat, the pavements around the pub were filled with bikes of every description as cyclists descended on the pub seeking out cool beer and hot bike action. (Note to the editor: to be clear, that’s Tour de France action).

Rachel from Michaux demonstrates the hidden pocket in the Michaux backpack

With face painting to keep the kids happy, French food and wine on tap (or rather in bottles) and Rollapaluza to add a friendly challenge to the day, cycling types of all disciplines came to have a mosey around the stalls and to watch Stage 15 of the Tour in jovial company.

Art by Philip Deacon

Showcasing their frames were Rusby and Saffron, both offering beautifully made handbuilt British bikes, whilst London Bike Kitchen showed how to fix things, specifically how to fix a bingo machine to the back of a bike, because you never know when you might need to pull a winning number on your trip. Also on show were bike themed poster art, t-shirts, mugs and even Rich Michelson’s little Eddy Merckx dolls and postcards.

Matthew Sowter from Saffron Frameworks shows off his work

Vulpine themselves were having a family day out, with Nick, his wife, their baby and the dog all present and enjoying the day. In fact it was a very dog friendly day, with plenty of pooches enjoying the attention in the pub garden. In line with Vulpine’s brand philosophy, this was a charity event supporting Rollapaluza Outreach and Syria Relief.